FA8651-22-S-0001 CALL 05 UD 2025 FINAL.pdf

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

AIR DELIVERED EFFECTS BAA FA8651-22-S-0001

BAA CALL 05

UNIVERSITY DAY 2025

I. OVERVIEW OF THE CALL

This CALL is open to U.S. Universities only. The purpose of this CALL is to solicit leading-edge research from academic collaborators that currently do not have a relationship with AFRL/RW via existing contract/grant. However, AFRL/RW will consider all U.S. Universities’ proposals. AFRL/RW intends to award short-term seedling projects in two research areas. Offerors shall propose against ONE research area topic only. Only those Offerors who meet the highly selectable and/or selectable categories will be invited to the virtual pitch day. The Government is anticipating Distribution A (Publicly releasable) classification for this call; proposals with other classification levels must be marked appropriately.

A. OVERVIEW

Federal Agency Name:

Government Research Laboratory, Munitions Directorate 101 W. Eglin Blvd Eglin AFB, FL 32542-6810

CALL Title: University Day 2025

CALL Announcement Type: This is the initial announcement.

CALL Number: FA8651-22-S-0001/CALL 05

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers (s): 12.800 Government Defense Research Sciences Program

Proposal Questions: please submit by April 29th, 2025

CALL Due Date: Proposal Due Date and Time: 14 May 2025 at 3:00 PM. Central Standard Time (CST). Early submission is encouraged so that AFRL/RW can confirm receipt of submission.

Total Amount Available: ~$75K-$100K each

Number of Awards Anticipated: 5-6 awards.

NAICS Code: 541715 – Research and Technology in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).

II. INFORMATION ABOUT THE CALL

A. Program Description

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. (AFRL-2025-1846

1. This CALL is open to U.S. Universities only. The purpose of this CALL is to solicit leading-edge research from academic collaborators that currently do not have a relationship with AFRL/RW.

However, AFRL/RW will consider all U.S. Universities’ proposals. AFRL/RW intends to award short-term seedling projects only in the following two research areas that will allow AFRL/RW Government researchers to assess the value and the partnering relationship feasibility, technical quality, and return on investment. Proposal(s) submitted in response to this CALL that are selected for award are the results of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of PL 98-369, the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984.

Research Area Topics:

• RA 2 – BIOPRINCIPIC SYSTEMS (SENSORS, PROCESSING, CONTROL, AND

MATERIALS) (RWTCA) with Research Title: Collective Swarming Resulting from Emerging Behavior by Autonomous Biological (Attachment 3).

• RA 17 – WEAPON AUTONOMY AND CONTROL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH (RWTA)

with Research Title: Computationally Efficient, Intelligent Guidance and Control Algorithms (Attachment 3).

2. CALL 05 for proposals is issued under the overarching BAA FA8651-22-S-0001, which was published in beta.SAM.gov and Grants.gov on 01 April 2025 (Attachment 1). Offerors must refer to FA8651-22-S- 0001 and adhere to in conjunction with this CALL for proposals. This CALL for proposals will be governed by the process described in Section VII “Two-Step BAA With CALLs” of the overarching BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 and the information provided in this CALL for proposals.

3. All requirements of the FA8651-22-S-0001 apply unless specifically amended and addressed in this CALL announcement and proposal instructions. The overarching BAA contains information applicable to all CALLS issued under FA8651-22-S-0001 and provides information on the overall program. If there are any conflicts between the BAA and CALL, the instruction in this CALL takes precedent. You may direct questions to the Agency Contacts identified below.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Instrument: The Government reserves the right to award the instrument best suited.

Accordingly, the Government intends to award grants.

2. Anticipated Number of Awards: The Government anticipates awarding 5-6 proposals for this announcement. However, the Government reserves the right to award zero, one, or more for all, some or none of the solicited effort based on the offeror’s ability to perform desired work.

3. Anticipated Award Date: 16 June 2025

4. Deliverable: A final report is anticipated.

5. Schedule: Period of performance is 12 months with an estimated 10 months for the research and 2 months for the final report.

6. Anticipated Funding Amount: Anticipated funding is $75-$100K for each award. All funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability.

7. Notice of Intent:

a. Security Risk Review: Each proposal submission will be subject to a Security Risk Review prior to selection for award. The Security Risk Review is applied to federally funded research designed to help protect Department of the Air Force Science and Technology (S&T) by identifying possible vectors of undue foreign influence. AFRL will follow all policy and procedures outlined in Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Instruction AFRLI 61-113, Science and Technology Protection for the Air Force Research Laboratory and Department of the Air Force Instruction DAFI 63-101/20-101, Integrated Lifecycle Management.

b. Security risk review for these subject proposals will be developed for all proposed Senior/Key personnel and “Covered Individuals”. These risk reviews will be based on information disclosed in a Research and Related Senior and Key Person Profile and Security Questionnaire. In addition, any accompanying or referenced documents, publicly available information, and information contained in internal U.S. Government databases will be utilized in risk reviews. Nationality or citizenship is not a factor in the security risk reviews.

c. When considering all external engagements, AFRL incorporates a holistic decision-making process that encompasses technical and security factors. The security review method implemented by AFRL measures risk factors to identify the appropriate Risk Acceptance Level (RAL) within the organization. The objective analysis of the security risk factors is conducted to empower AFRL’s S&T leaders to make risk-informed decisions. The review process generally looks at five factors, or risk areas, but with authority for expanded review as noted in OSD R&E Memorandum dated 6 Jun 2023.

The potential security risk factors are set forth below:

Potential security risk factors:

2. Action Required by Applicants/Recipients at proposal submission:

a. In accordance with AFRLI 61-113, S&T Protection, Applicants/Recipients are required to submit the following documentation with their proposal:

1) Grant or Cooperative Agreement (CA) proposals:

i. Standard Form 424, “Research and Related Senior and Key Person Profile (Expanded) (See Appendix 1 on SAM.gov with BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 Amendment 6 )

ii. Security Program Questionnaire (See Appendix 2 on SAM.gov with BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 Amendment 6 )

iii. “Privacy Act Statement” consent form for each Covered Individual that is also signed by the Applicants/Recipients as that Individual’s Sponsor (See “Covered Individual” section below, and Appendix 4 on SAM.gov with BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 Amendment 6 )

These documents will be submitted to AFRL/RW Security, afrl.rw.risc@us.af.mil, and the Program Manager Tonya Savage, tonya.savage.1@us.af.mil.

2) In the event a security risk is identified, and the Government has determined the security risk exceeds the acceptable threshold, the Applicant/Recipient will be notified and informed of the decline of award. The Government will only provide a general statement of the reasoning due to Government OPSEC measures.

3) By submission of the Research and Related Senior Key Person Profile and Security Program Questionnaire, the Applicant/Recipient agrees to comply with the following:

i. To certify that each covered individual who is listed on the application has been made aware: 1) of all relevant disclosure requirements, including the requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 6605; and 2) that false representations may be subject to prosecution and liability pursuant to, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. § 287, 1001, 1031 AND 31 U.S.C § 3729-3733 and 3802. See National Science Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33) on National Security Strategy for United States Government-Supported Research and Development (January 2022).

ii. To establish and maintain an internal process or procedure to address foreign talent programs, conflicts of commitment, conflicts of interest, and research integrity.

iii. To exercise due diligence to identify Foreign Components or participation by Senior/Key Personnel in Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs and agree to share such information with the Government upon request.

3. Actions Required by Covered Individuals:

a. Covered Individual. An individual who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a federal research agency;

and is designated as a covered individual by the federal research agency concerned. See 42 U.S.C. § 6605, Definitions. (Note: For purposes of a Board Agency Announcement (BAA) solicitation, “covered individuals” are all Senior/Key Personnel.)

b. Federal law requires that all current and pending research support, as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 6605, must be disclosed at the time of proposal submission, for all covered individuals. The Government may require an updated disclosure during the performance of any research project selected for funding. The Government will require an updated

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. (AFRL-2025-1846 mailto:afrl.rw.risc@us.af.mil mailto:tonya.savage.1@us.af.mil disclosure whenever covered individuals are added or identified as performing under the funded project.

c. Covered Individuals are also required to sign the “Privacy Act Statement” and provide such signed statement to the Applicant/Recipient for submission with the proposal. (See Appendix 4)

d. Any decision to accept a proposal for funding under this announcement will include full reliance on the individual’s statements. Failure to report fully and completely all sources of project support and outside positions and affiliations may be considered a material statement within the meaning of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729, and constitute a violation of Federal law.

4. Actions required by Applicants/Recipients during period of performance:

a. Applicant/Recipient will be required to re-submit the Research and Related Senior and

Key Person Profile as an annual requirement. In addition, whenever a new covered individual(s) is to be added or identified as performing under the funded project, a new Research and Related Senior and Key Person Profile will be required prior to continued performance.

b. If, at any time, during performance of this award, the Applicant/Recipient learns that its Senior/Key Research Personnel (including any sub awardee personnel who receive this designation) are or are believed to be participants in a Foreign Government Talent Program or have Foreign Components with a strategic competitor or country with a history of targeting U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer, the Applicant/Recipient will notify the Grants/Agreements Officer within 5 business days of awareness.

c. This disclosure must include specific information as to the personnel involved and the nature of the situation and relationship. The Government will review this information and conduct any necessary fact-finding or discussion with the Applicant/Recipient. The Government’s determination on disclosure may include acceptance, mitigation, or termination of the award.

d. Failure of the Applicant/Recipient to reasonably exercise due diligence to discover or ensure that neither it nor any of its Senior/Key Research Personnel involved in the subject award are participating in a Foreign Government Talent Program or have a Foreign Component with a strategic competitor or country with a history of targeting U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer may result in the Government exercising remedies in accordance with federal law and regulation.

e. The Applicant/Recipient will be required to flow down this provision to all sub awardees who have personnel designated as Senior/Key Research Personnel as a result of their involvement in the performance of the research.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Offeror: U.S. Universities are eligible to submit proposals for this CALL.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing is not required.

3. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): An OCI may apply to this effort but cannot be determined prior to issuance of this CALL. An OCI Disclosure of Representation must be completed and returned with the proposal.

4. Other: Foreign participation is not authorized. Offerors may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this CALL and overarching BAA requirements are not met on the proposal due date as identified below.

D. Proposal and Submission Information

1. Overview: Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. The Government intends to review proposals and award some, all, or none of the proposals received without negotiation/discussion; however, the Government reserves the right to negotiate with those offeror(s) whose proposal is selected for funding. Offerors shall only propose against ONE research area topic.

Only those Offerors who meet the highly selectable and/or selectable categories will be invited to the virtual pitch day and if selected same day awards will be made. Offerors should be alerted for any CALL amendments that may change the proposal requirements.

2. Proposal Due Date and Time: 14 May 2025 3:00 P.M. CST. Proposals must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. Offerors shall notify the Government Point of Contact (POC), Adam Noffke @ afrl.afrl.rwkbaacallsworkflow@us.af.mil when a proposal is submitted electronically via Grants.gov. NOTE: Any proposal, modification, or revision received at the Government Office designated in this CALL after the exact time specified for receipt of offer is considered “late”.

3. Reps and Certs: The Government will pull the Reps and Certs from SAM.gov upon proposal submission.

4. Statement of Objectives (SOO): The Offeror shall complete the attached SOO (Attachment 1). Do not include any proprietary information in the SOO.

5. Grants.gov Submission: Electronic Delivery – the Government is participating in the Grants.gov initiative to provide the grant community with a single site to find and apply for CALLs. Offerors must submit their proposals online through Grants.gov in the accordance with the CALL. Offerors can find complete instructions at the following link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/Offerors/organization-registration.html

6. Timely Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission: All proposals must be received by the due date established for each program. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by Grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the proposal is successfully received by Grants.gov. The Offeror with the AOR (Area of Responsibility) role who submitted the proposal will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) from Grants.gov with the successful transmission of their proposal. This Offeror with the AOR role will also receive the official date/time stamp and Grants.gov tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

7. Content and Form of Proposal Submission:

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a. General Instructions

i) Technical/management and cost/business volumes shall be submitted in separate volumes and must be valid for at least 120 days.

ii) Both technical and cost proposals must reference the announcement number FA8651-22-S-

0001, CALL 05.

iii) Proposals must be submitted via Grants.gov.

iv) The cost of preparing proposals in response to this CALL is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other agreement; however, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost.

v) It is expected that proposals contain unclassified information.

b. Technical/Management Proposal and SOO:

i) Technical/management volume shall be properly marked with appropriate classification markings.

ii) Technical/management volume shall include a cover letter (inclusive of the page count) that includes the following information: Announcement number FA8651-22-S-0001, CALL 05, Title and Proposed Research Area Topic, Cost, Name and Address of University, Commercial and Government Entity Number (cage code), Technical and Contracting Points of Contact (email and phone number).

iii) Technical/management volume shall be limited to 5 pages.

iv) Technical/management volume shall be provided in Microsoft Word.

v) Font shall be standard 10-point Times New Roman.

vi) Character spaces must be “normal”, not condensed.

vii) Line spacing shall be 1.5-spaced (must use standard 1.5-space function in Microsoft Word), double sided (each side counts as one page), 8.5 by 11 inches, with at least one-inch margins on both sides, top and bottom.

viii) All text must adhere to all font size and line spacing requirements listed herein. Font and line spacing requirements do not have to be followed for illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, and diagrams. For tables and charts, the formatting requirement shall be single spacing; and the font shall be Times New Roman no less than 8-point font. These exceptions shall not be used to circumvent formatting requirements and page count limitations by including lengthy narratives in such items.

ix) Pages shall be numbered starting with the cover page being Page 1, and the last page being no greater than Page 5. The page limitation covers all information including indices, photographs, foldouts (counted as 1 page for each 8.5 by 11 portion) tables, charts, appendices, attachments, resumes, etc.

x) The Technical/management volume page limit does NOT include the offeror’s proposed SOO;

however, the same formatting rules apply to the SOO, which is limited to 2 pages.

c. Cost/Business Proposal: Separate the proposals into a business and cost section.

i) Business Section

(1) The business section should contain all business aspects to the proposed agreement, such as type of instrument, any exceptions to terms and conditions of the announcement and any information not technically related, etc.

(2) Same formatting rules as the Technical/management volume applies.

(3) Identify any technical data that will be delivered with less than Government Purpose

Rights.

(4) Pages shall be limited to 3 pages.

ii) Cost Element Breakdown: Clear, concise, and accurate cost proposals reflect the offeror's financial plan for accomplishing the effort contained in the technical proposal. As a part of its cost proposal, the offeror shall submit the information outlined below, together with supporting breakdowns. All direct costs (labor, material, travel, computer, etc.) as well as labor and overhead rates should be provided by offeror fiscal year. Detailed cost element breakdowns by Government Fiscal Year or calendar year are not required. Cost Proposals will have no page limitations. Cost information shall be provided as a Microsoft Excel sheet with all cells unlocked and formulas intact. The cost element breakdown should include the following if applicable.

(1) Direct Labor: Direct labor should be detailed by number of labor hours by category of labor.

(2) Labor and Overhead Rates: Direct labor hours, with their applicable rates, must be broken out and the bases used clearly identified. The source of labor and overhead rates and all pricing factors should be identified. For instance, if a Forward Pricing Rate Agreement (FPRA) is in existence, that should be noted, along with the Administrative Grants/Agreements Officer’s (AGO/AAO's) name and telephone number. If the rates are based on current experience in your organization, provide the historical base used and clearly identify all escalation, by year, applied to derive the proposed rates. If computer usage is determined by a rate, identify the basis used and rationale used to derive the rate.

(3) Material/Equipment: List all material/equipment items by type and kind with associated costs and advise if the costs are based on vendor quotes, data and/or engineering estimates; provide copies of vendor quotes and/or catalog pricing data.

(4) Travel: Travel costs must be justified and related to the needs of the effort. Identify the number of trips, the destination and purpose. Travel costs should be broken out by trip with number of travelers, airfare, per diem, lodging, etc.

(5) Other Direct Cost: Identify all other direct costs and quantities as required.

(6) Indirect Costs: Identify all indirect costs/indirect rates and basis for calculation.

d. Proposal Content Summary: The Government will check the technical and cost proposals and SOO for conformance to the stated requirements. Any pages more than the stated page limitation after the format check will not be considered for review purposes. Additionally, you shall be ineligible for award if all requirements of this CALL are not met on the proposal due date.

E. Proposal Review Information

1. Selection Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria outlined in the overarching BAA FA8651-22-S-0001, paragraph VII, as stated below. The following criteria are listed in descending order of importance:

a. Technical Evaluation Criteria

• A unique and innovative approach proposed to accomplish technical objectives. New and creative solutions and/or advances in knowledge, understanding, technology, and the state of the art being pursued by AFRL/RW and described in the 2 research areas of the BAA (Call 05).

• The offeror's understanding of the scope of the technical effort.

• Soundness of the offeror’s technical approach, including whether the proposal identifies major technical risks, clearly defines feasible mitigation efforts, and demonstrates related experience/qualifications of technical personnel.

• Potential to transition the R&D deliverables to future Government needs. (Any proposed restrictions on technical data/computer software will be considered).

b. Cost Proposal Criteria:

• The reasonableness and realism of proposed cost and fees, if any, the proposed cost share (for Cooperative Agreements and Technology Investment Agreements), and/or the offeror’s projected progress to the desired solution within the parameters of available funding. Cost proposals have no page limitations.

c. Proposal Risk Assessment: Proposal risk for technical, cost, and schedule will be.

assessed for formal proposals, as part of the evaluation of the above evaluation criteria. Proposal risk relates to the identification and assessment of the risks associated with an offeror's proposed approach as it relates to accomplishing the proposed effort. Tradeoffs of the assessed risk will be weighed against the potential scientific benefit. Proposal risk for schedule relates to an assessment of the risks associated with the offeror's proposed number of hours, labor categories, material, or other cost elements as it relates to meeting the proposed period of performance.

• Proposal Risk Assessment o Low: Little potential to cause disruption of schedule, increase in cost, or degrade desired performance. Normal effects will probably be able to overcome issue.

o Moderate: Can potentially cause some disruption of schedule, increase cost, or degrade desired performance. Special monitoring required to overcome issues.

o High: Likely to cause significant disruption of schedule, increased cost, or fail to meet performance goals. Risk may be unacceptable even with special efforts.

2. Review and Selection Process: The evaluation described above will generally result in proposals being placed in one of the three categories below:

• High Recommended: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available and normally are displaced only by other Highly Recommended proposals.

• Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available, but at a lower priority than Highly Recommended proposals. May require additional development. To ensure a diversity of approaches, a Selectable proposal may be prioritized over a Highly Recommended proposal if the Selectable proposal presents a unique approach unlike any of the Highly Recommended proposals.

• Not Selectable: Even if sufficient funding existed, the proposal should not be funded.

3. No other criteria will be used.

F. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices: Offerors will be notified whether their proposal is recommended for award on or about 16 June 2025.

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

1. Agency Contacts: Contracts – Adam Noffke @ afrl.afrl.rwkbaacallsworkflow@us.af.mil;

2. Communication Between Prospective Offerors and Government Representatives: Prior to submitting proposal offerors are encouraged to contact the technical POC above to ensure proposals are in line with above mentioned research areas and AFRL RW goals. The Offerors will appoint a single primary and alternate POC for all communication (i.e., questions and answers) that will take place between the Offeror and Government. Any contractual questions and answers received by the Offerors will be shared with all Offerors. Discussions with any of the POCs shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort. Only the Grants and Agreements Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. Please fill out Appendix 1-2,4 that are attachments from BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 Amendment 6 on SAM.gov.

Currently posted on SAM.gov and Grants.gov is the BAA and Security Risk Review Appendices:

1. Overarching BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 Amendment 6 – SAM.gov/grants.gov

2. Security Risk Review (Appendix 1 – SF424 Senior/Key Person Profile

3. Security Risk Review (Appendix 2 - Security Program Questionnaire)

4. Security Risk Review (Appendix 4 – Privacy Act Statement)

Attachments to This Call:

1. SOO Template

2. Model Assistance Instrument/Grants/Cooperative Agreements

3. Research Topic Areas 2 & 17

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. (AFRL-2025-1846 mailto:afrl.afrl.rwkbaacallsworkflow@us.af.mil